But more importantly, this is yet another indictment on Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum.

This isn't the first bust of a first-round offensive tackle the Jets have traded for this offseason. They gave up a draft pick for OT Jeff Otah, but the Panthers forgot to say "blackjack, no trade back," and a week later Otah had failed two physicals. The trade was voided.

Look at it this way: Read this article from the Southeast Missourian about Smith losing his starting job to Richardson. Replace all instances of "Jason Smith" with "Wayne Hunter," and all "Barry Richardson" instances with "Austin Howard," and the article pretty much reads exactly like what we were reading about at the Jets' right tackle position over the past week.

It's better than doing nothing–at least the Jets are showing a willingness to try something new at a position of need. Whether it ends up being an improvement remains to be seen.

It's unsafe to read too much into one preseason game, but Austin Howard looked pretty good against a top-notch pass-rusher in Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson. Sometimes, a player can begin to struggle when his tendencies show up on film (see: Wayne Hunter), so his long-term success remains in doubt.

But then again, so does Smith's.

According to Jenny Vrentas and the Star-Ledger, the Jets' plan is to use Smith as the blocking tight end in the "jumbo" role that Wayne Hunter filled, while Howard remains the starter.